History Main / GenreRelaunch

* 1998's ''Film/{{Blade}}'', 2000's ''Film/XMen1'', and 2002's ''Film/SpiderMan1'' brought redemption to the superhero movie industry after the travesty of the Schumacher ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' films and ''Film/{{Steel}}'' had put the genre down for the count. This revival also ensured that subsequent films would be DarkerAndEdgier teenage- and adult-oriented films rather than the all-ages kind that had been before, such as ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and ''Film/ManOfSteel''. However, family-marketed superhero films are on the rise again, thanks to 2012's ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', 2014's ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'' and ''Film/PowerRangers2017''.
* Following the failure of ''Film/Catwoman2004'', ''Film/{{Electra}}'' and ''Film/BladeTrinity'', superhero movies largely avoided having leads that weren't [[MinorityShowGhetto white]] or [[GirlShowGhetto male]]. It would take the success of 2017's ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'' and 2018's ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' to demonstrate that gender and race were irrelevant when it came to the success or failure of various superhero movies. Since then, both ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'' [[note]]Whilst Aquaman is traditionally white in the comics, [[RaceLift he is played by]] Native Hawaiian actor Creator/JasonMomoa in the movie[[/note]] and ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'' went on to make over one billion dollars each.

** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' revived interest in 2D platformers. ''New Super Mario Bros'' would go on to become [[CashCowFranchise very successful for Nintendo]], and would be followed by numerous other 2D platform games from both major publishers and especially indie developers.

** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' revived interest in 2D platformers.

* ''Film/MoulinRouge'' and ''Film/{{Chicago}}'' did that a second time after the genre's reputation was killed by ''Film/{{Xanadu}}'' and ''Film/CantStopTheMusic''.

* There'd hardly been any SwordAndSandal epic movies since ''Film/{{Cleopatra}}'' had come out in 1963. Then along came a little film called ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' in 2000, and the genre became big again.

* HairMetal has seen a minor resurgence over the years, after dying unceremoniously in 1992 with the rise of {{Grunge}}. Bands like Music/BlackVeilBrides, Dirty Honey, Music/TheDarkness, Reckles Love, Crashdïet, H.E.A.T and Crazy Lixx, along with parody/tribute act Music/SteelPanther, have managed to prove the genre is still viable even if it still has the '80s stigma stuck to it.

* The ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' franchise made {{pirate}}s fun for the twenty-first century (although its influence has mostly been in literature rather than in more films).

* HairMetal has seen a minor resurgence over the years, after dying unceremoniously in 1992 with the rise of {{Grunge}}. Bands like Music/BlackVeilBrides, Dirty Honey, Music/TheDarkness, Santa Cruz, Crashdïet, H.E.A.T and Crazy Lixx, along with parody/tribute act Music/SteelPanther, have managed to prove the genre is still viable even if it still has the '80s stigma stuck to it.

* HairMetal has seen a minor resurgence over the years, after dying unceremoniously in 1992 with the rise of {{Grunge}}. Bands like Music/BlackVeilBrides, Dirty Honey, Music/TheDarkness, Santa Cruz, Music/{{Enforcer}}, Crashdïet, H.E.A.T, Reckless Love, Wig Wam, and Crazy Lixx, along with parody/tribute act Music/SteelPanther, have managed to prove the genre is still viable even if it still has the '80s stigma stuck to it.

* While adult animation has always been a thing, it more or less died out in the mid-30's as a result of the MoralGuardian-championed UsefulNotes/HaysCode and the rise of the AnimationAgeGhetto during UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation. The revival of the subgenre was a gradual one; the works of Creator/RalphBakshi such as ''WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coonskin}}'' are often considered the start of the revival, albeit a niche one, while ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', and ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' are all credited with restoring [[AnimatedShockComedy adult animation to mainstream status]]. It saw another decline in the late-2000s/early-2010s when many adult cartoons started focusing too much on vulgarity and dark humor, but managed to get relaunched again (albeit in a rather slow process) with the successes of ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', and ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty''.

* HairMetal has seen a minor resurgence over the years, after dying unceremoniously in 1992 with the rise of {{Grunge}}. Bands like Music/BlackVeilBrides, Dirty Honey, Music/TheDarkness, Santa Cruz, Music/{{Enforcer}}, Crashdïet, and Crazy Lixx, along with parody/tribute act Music/SteelPanther, have managed to prove the genre is still viable even if it still has the '80s stigma stuck to it.

* Within the west, the EasternRPG genre of RolePlayingGames was niche until ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' came along in the late nineties and succeeded massively, with ''Final Fantasy VII'' drawing lots of JRPG developers towards the UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, while ''Pokemon'' became a worldwide phenomenon and quickly became one of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s flagships. However, the seventh generation saw a decline in the popularity of [=JRPGs=] due to most JRPG developers prioritizing the more affordable UsefulNotes/NintendoDS and UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable over the more powerful UsefulNotes/Xbox360 and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3. While the former console did have successful titles like ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', the void left behind by JRPG developers was quickly filled by WesternRPG developers and their games, most notably Creator/{{Bethesda}} with ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', and Creator/{{Bioware}} with ''Franchise/DragonAge'' and ''Franchise/MassEffect''. And with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' proving to be an incredibly divisive game, western interest in the traditional JRPG genre fizzled out halfway through the generation, with the exceptions of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1''. Even then, the former shared lots of similar aesthetics with Western [=RPGs=], while the latter only saw a limited run on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}. The relaunch of the genre in the west came in the middle of the eighth generation several years later, [=JRPGs=] like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', ''VideoGame/Persona5'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' all saw massive success on home consoles and reignited interest within the genre in the west. In the following years, ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'', ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1: Definitive Edition'' all saw equal amounts of success, while the formerly dominant Western RPG franchises became plagued with heavy monetization and boring gameplay found in games like ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', ''VideoGame/Fallout76'', and worst of all, ''VideoGame/{{Anthem}}''. The success of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch also helped, with allowed more niche JRPG franchises like ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' to also gain a foot in the door, most notably seen when a Switch version of ''Ys IX: Monstrum Nox'' was announced alongside the English localization, and when ''VideoGame/AtelierRyzaEverDarknessAndTheSecretHideout'' ended becoming the bestselling installment in its franchise and had a direct sequel announced in a Nintendo Direct in 2020.

* The ''Film/{{Scream}}'' series did the same for [[SlasherMovie slasher movies]] by hanging a massive lampshade over the genre's numerous clichés, while still employing them to scary effect. In a huge twist of {{irony}}, the director, Creator/WesCraven had actually made ''Scream'' to kill the alling genre off once and for all, [[SpringtimeForHitler but his attempt instead end up revitalising it]]. It took nearly a full decade for the resurgence to die back down, being done in by two things: a massive glut of uninspired, low-quality slashers that either couldn't emulate ''Scream''[='s=] cheeky postmodernism, or simply didn't even try to, and the UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} Massacre making any what Creator/RogerEbert called "dead teenager" movies very uncomfortable because they were too close to that event.

** The two wouldn't have had nearly as big of a success had '' Manga/KurokosBasketball'' not created a decently sized core fandom primarily consisting of [[YaoiFangirl fujoshi]]. After the second season of ''Kuroko'' had ended, the fangirls happened upon ''Haikyuu!'' which was animated by the [[Creator/ProductionIG same studio]] as ''Kuroko'', and natural cross polination quickly occured. As the third and final season of ''Kuroko'' aired in early 2015, the fandom quickly moved on to both ''Haikyuu'' and the final newcomer in the "fujo sports triangle", ''Free'' and the rest is pretty much history.

* ''Anime/{{Free}}'' and ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}'' have more or less relaunched interest in sports anime in the North American fanbase. While this is due to both being just generally really good animes of the genre, they also gathered a bucketload of an EstrogenBrigade, especially the former, which was straight up advertised as a female-targetted alternative to fanservice-y moe shows.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid'' reintroduced the world to the Disney musical formula in 1989, and 1991's ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' made it a viable (and profitable) film-making approach. This unfortunately led to numerous imitators in the 1990s, which (coupled with Disney's refusal to do anything ''but'' musicals throughout the decade after ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' bombed at the box office) had turned it stale by the end of the decade. The popularity of 2001's ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' essentially killed off the musical formula, which led to Disney not using it for almost ten years. However, 2009's ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' managed to make the Disney musical popular again with critics, 2010's ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' made it popular again with families, and ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' made it popular again with everyone else.

* Within the west, the EasternRPG genre of RolePlayingGames was niche until ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' came along in the late nineties and succeeded massively, with ''Final Fantasy VII'' drawing lots of JRPG developers towards the UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, while ''Pokemon'' became a worldwide phenomenon and quickly became one of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s flagships. However, the seventh generation saw a decline in the popularity of [=JRPGs=] due to most JRPG developers prioritizing the more affordable UsefulNotes/NintendoDS and UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable over the more powerful UsefulNotes/Xbox360 and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3. While the former console did have successful titles like ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', the void left behind by JRPG developers was quickly filled by WesternRPG developers and their games, most notably Creator/{{Bethesda}} with ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', and Creator/{{Bioware}} with ''Franchise/DragonAge'' and ''Franchise/MassEffect''. And with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' proving to be an incredibly divisive game, western interest in the traditional JRPG genre fizzled out halfway through the generation, with the exceptions of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1''. Even then, the former shared lots of similar aesthetics with Western [=RPGs=], while the latter only saw a limited run on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}. The relaunch of the genre in the west came in the middle of the eighth generation several years later, [=JRPGs=] like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', ''VideoGame/Persona5'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' all saw massive success on home consoles and reignited interest within the genre in the west. In the following years, ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'', ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles: Definitive Edition'' all saw equal amounts of success, while the formerly dominant Western RPG franchises became plagued with heavy monetization and boring gameplay found in games like ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', ''VideoGame/Fallout76'', and worst of all, ''VideoGame/{{Anthem}}''. The success of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch also helped, with allowed more niche JRPG franchises like ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' to also gain a foot in the door, most notably seen when a Switch version of ''Ys IX: Monstrum Nox'' was announced alongside the English localization, and when ''VideoGame/AtelierRyzaEverDarknessAndTheSecretHideout'' ended becoming the bestselling installment in its franchise and had a direct sequel announced in a Nintendo Direct in 2020.

** The latter, along with WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime, showed that there was not only a market for MerchandiseDriven shows as long as they're well made and well written, but even marked a renewed interest in making cartoons for girls [[note]][[ExecutiveMeddling Not that Stuart Snyder was listening]][[/note]], but that [[TestosteroneBrigade boys and men could enjoy cartoons for girls]]; [[EstrogenBrigade like girls and women could enjoy cartoons for boys.]]

* NuMetal has seen something of resurgence since around 2012, after dying unceremoniously in 2004. Bands like Music/{{Issues}}, Music/InThisMoment, Music/HollywoodUndead, Of Mice & Men, Music/FromAshesToNew, Emmure, and Saint Asonia prove the genre isn't completely non-viable like it used to be. Throw that in with various deathcore bands like Music/SuicideSilence, Whitechapel, Upon a Burning Body, and Attila taking noticeable influence from the genre. Add that with the fact that bands who previously abandoned the genre returned to their roots, most notably Music/{{Staind}}, Music/{{Slipknot}}, Music/PapaRoach, and Music/LinkinPark. It'll probably never be anywhere near as popular as it once was, but it's something.

* {{Boy Band}}s were practically D.O.A. after the Music/BackstreetBoys and Music/{{NSYNC}} faded in 2001-02 [[labelnote:*]]Though this largely applies to the West; in Asia, boy bands have been consistently popular, particularly in China, Japan, and South Korea[[/labelnote]]. The Jonas Brothers were popular for a few years from 2007 to 2009, but that was more of a pop-rock act as opposed to a traditional boy band. Following the success of Music/JustinBieber, "classic" boy bands like Series/BigTimeRush, Music/TheWanted, and JLS started popping up. JLS and The Wanted had good success in the UK, but were nowhere near as popular as acts like Take That and Westlife were and made no impact internationally. Big Time Rush, meanwhile, had a hit show on Nickelodeon, but as a band weren't very successful mostly because their launch was parallel to the rise of Bieber.

* After the success of ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'', studios began churning out multiple animated movies based on TV shows, [[SturgeonsLaw all of varying quality]]. The over-saturation of these movies, combined with lackluster box office numbers, quickly caused animated TV to film adaptations to fall out of favor, with some even arguing they contributed to the decline of traditional animation due to "cheapening" the medium and coming out around the same time the AllCGICartoon was becoming popular. Despite the success of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', it wouldn't be until the critical and financial success of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'' in 2015 when animated TV to movie adaptations would start to see a comeback. Ironically, its predecessor ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie'' was one of the last of the initial "wave" of TV show-based animated features, being released in 2004 alongside the [[GenreKiller genre-killers]] ''WesternAnimation/TeachersPet'' and ''WesternAnimation/RugratsGoWild''.

* After the success of ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'', studios began churning out multiple animated movies based on TV shows, [[SturgeonsLaw all of varying quality]]. The over-saturation of these movies, combined with lackluster box office numbers, quickly caused animated TV to film adaptations to fall out of favor, with some even arguing they contributed to the decline of traditional animation due to "cheapening" the medium and coming out around the same time the AllCGICartoon was becoming popular. Despite the success of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', it wouldn't be until the critical and financial success of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'' in 2015 when animated TV to movie adaptations would start to see a comeback, and ironically help revive wide-release 2D animated features in the West after killing it a decade earlier!

* Within the west, the EasternRPG genre of RolePlayingGames was niche until ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' came along in the late nineties and succeeded massively, with ''Final Fantasy VII'' drawing lots of JRPG developers towards the UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, while ''Pokemon'' became a worldwide phenomenon and quickly became one of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s flagships. However, the seventh generation saw a decline in the popularity of [=JRPGs=] due to most JRPG developers prioritizing the more affordable UsefulNotes/NintendoDS and UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable over the more powerful UsefulNotes/Xbox360 and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3. While the former console did have successful titles like ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', the void left behind by JRPG developers was quickly filled by WesternRPG developers and their games, most notably Creator/{{Bethesda}} with ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', and Creator/{{Bioware}} with ''Franchise/DragonAge'' and ''Franchise/MassEffect''. And with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' proving to be an incredibly divisive game, western interest in the traditional JRPG genre fizzled out halfway through the generation, with the exceptions of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1''. Even then, the former shared lots of similar aesthetics with Western [=RPGs=], while the latter only saw a limited run on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}. The relaunch of the genre in the west came in the middle of the eighth generation several years later, [=JRPGs=] like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', ''VideoGame/Persona5'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' all saw massive success on home consoles and reignited interest within the genre in the west. In the following years, ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'', ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', and ''VideoGame/Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition'' all saw equal amounts of success, while the formerly dominant Western RPG franchises became plagued with heavy monetization and boring gameplay found in games like ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', ''VideoGame/Fallout76'', and worst of all, ''VideoGame/{{Anthem}}''. The success of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch also helped, with allowed more niche JRPG franchises like ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' to also gain a foot in the door, most notably seen when a Switch version of ''Ys IX: Monstrum Nox'' was announced alongside the English localization, and when ''VideoGame/AtelierRyzaEverDarknessAndTheSecretHideout'' ended becoming the bestselling installment in its franchise and had a direct sequel announced in a Nintendo Direct in 2020.

* With both ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' ending in 2004, people started wondering about the future of the three camera {{sitcom}} (a.k.a. the ones with {{Laugh Track}}s) with the success of single-camera comedies like ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' and ''Series/TheOffice'' gaining steam. ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' in 2005 helped keep it around, but it was the enormous success of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' that kept it going.

* Within the west, the EasternRPG genre of RolePlayingGames was niche until ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' came along in the late nineties and succeeded massively, with ''Final Fantasy VII'' drawing lots of JRPG developers towards the UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, while ''Pokemon'' became a worldwide phenomenon and quickly became one of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s flagships. However, the seventh generation saw a decline in the popularity of [=JRPGs=] due to most JRPG developers prioritizing the more affordable UsefulNotes/NintendoDS and UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable over the more powerful UsefulNotes/Xbox360 and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3. While the former console did have successful titles like ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', the void left behind by JRPG developers was quickly filled by WesternRPG developers and their games, most notably Creator/{{Bethesda}} with ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', and Creator/{{Bioware}} with ''Franchise/DragonAge'' and ''Franchise/MassEffect''. And with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' proving to be an incredibly divisive game, western interest in the traditional JRPG genre fizzled out halfway through the generation, with the exceptions of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' and ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}''. Even then, the former shared lots of similar aesthetics with Western [=RPGs=], while the latter only saw a limited run on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}. The relaunch of the genre in the west came in the middle of the eighth generation several years later, [=JRPGs=] like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', ''VideoGame/Persona5'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' all saw massive success on home consoles and reignited interest within the genre in the west. In the following years, ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'', ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', and ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}} Chronicles: Definitive Edition'' all saw equal amounts of success, while the formerly dominant Western RPG franchises became plagued with heavy monetization and boring gameplay found in games like ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', ''VideoGame/Fallout76'', and worst of all, ''VideoGame/{{Anthem}}''. The success of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch also helped, with allowed more niche JRPG franchises like ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' to also gain a foot in the door, most notably seen when a Switch version of ''Ys IX: Monstrum Nox'' was announced alongside the English localization, and when ''VideoGame/AtelierRyzaEverDarknessAndTheSecretHideout'' ended becoming the bestselling installment in its franchise and had a direct sequel announced in a Nintendo Direct in 2020.

See also PopularityPolynomial. This is a subversion of DeaderThanDisco.

* ''Anime/{{Free}}'' and ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}'' have more or less relaunched interest of sports anime in the North American fanbase.

* The success of ''Radio/TheHowardSternShow'' around the same time, meanwhile, demonstrated that there was also still a market for less partisan and more comedic talk radio content, leading to the rise of the ShockJock as a new breed of radio host focused on VulgarHumor and GettingCrapPastTheRadar.

* With both ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' ending in 2004, people started wondering about the future of the three camera {{sitcom}} with the success of single-camera comedies like ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' and ''Series/TheOffice'' gaining steam. ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' in 2005 helped keep it around, but it was the enormous success of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' that kept it going.

* While adult animation has always been a thing, it more or less died out in the mid-30's as a result of the MoralGuardian-championed UsefulNotes/HaysCode and the rise of the AnimationAgeGhetto during UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation. The revival of the subgenre was a gradual one; the works of Creator/RalphBakshi such as ''WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coonskin}}'' are often considered the start of the revival, albeit a niche one, while ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', and ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' are all credited with restoring adult animation to mainstream status. It saw another decline in the late-2000s/early-2010s when many adult cartoons started focusing too much on [[AllAdultAnimationIsSouthPark vulgarity and dark humor]], but managed to get relaunched again (albeit in a rather slow process) with the successes of ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', and ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty''.